Is Britain a Class-Ridden Society

Social classes can be specified by a group of individuals sharing a similar social position and particular economic, political, and cultural qualities. A class-ridden society is a term used by sociologists to explain a society which is ruled by social classes. As for the British society, it is thought about as a department in three main classes: the upper class, the middle class and the lower or working class. For that reason, in the previous couple of decades, the economy has changed therefore has Britain.

Then, can we consider Britain as a class-ridden society?

Historically, in Britain, everything was depending on the class we were into. According to our language, our accent, the education we got from our family, our interests, etc, we were positioned in a specific social class. Then, things like relationships, tasks, professions differed from the class we were into. This phenomenon has actually existed in every nation but it was more or less the exact same as in Britain.

The author George Orwell stated that this nation was “the most class-ridden nation under the sun”. Certainly, unlike France, Britain was still governed by the upper class in the 19th. The rich ones were the elite and didn’t leave much location for other classes. Although the aristocratic power had declined in the 19th and 20th centuries, the distinction in between social classes is still in everybody’s mind.

Even if the social classes and especially the differences between them have existed for a long time now, new classes have emerged time after time.

For instance, with the Industrial Revolution, the term “working class” has appeared as well as the term “middle-class”.

Nowadays, things have changed. With the economic globalization, the immigration and the development of multiculturalism we have learned how to live with each other, whatever the background, the education and the social status. So the real question would be : has Britain evolved or has it remained the same class-ridden society?

To conclude, that question cannot be answered because Britain being a class-ridden society is in the British culture though there has been an evolution in everyone’s mind about that concept.